Tesla has significantly retracted its advertising promises regarding the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature and now only advertises the system as “under supervision”. This change primarily affects the USA and signals an important step in Tesla’s communication on autonomous driving technologies.
Key points:
- FSD always requires active monitoring by the driver.
- Earlier promises of fully autonomous driving were not fulfilled.
- The price of FSD has been reduced to USD 8,000 in the USA.
- Tesla plans to unveil its first fully autonomous robotaxi in October 2024.
Tesla and the promise of autonomous driving
In recent years, Tesla has repeatedly expressed the goal of enabling fully autonomous driving. Elon Musk declared that every Tesla vehicle built since 2016 would one day be able to drive autonomously. However, this vision was not realized. To this day, FSD remains a driver assistance system that relies on human supervision. Although this limitation was already to be found in the explanatory texts, it is now also clearly emphasized in the advertising.
The change in marketing came after various regulatory reviews and negative incidents involving accidents with Teslas in FSD mode. In the USA, the promise of “Full Self-Driving” had been repeatedly criticized in the past, as it gave the impression that the vehicles could drive without human intervention. In practice, this was never the case.
Tesla soon to present Robotaxi
Although the e-car manufacturer has not yet achieved fully autonomous driving, the company is sticking to its vision. Tesla is planning to present its first robotaxi in October 2024. This should be able to drive fully autonomously. This may be the next step towards a future robotaxi fleet. At the same time, Tesla is pursuing a flexible pricing strategy for FSD. The price for the feature has been as high as USD 15,000. Tesla drivers currently pay a much more attractive USD 8,000.
Conclusion
Tesla’s decision to only market the FSD system as a supervised driver assistance feature reflects the challenges and pressures the company faces in the autonomous driving space. While the future of autonomous driving remains uncertain, Tesla is showing that it is taking the concerns of regulators and users seriously. Whether the introduction of the Robotaxi will change this course remains to be seen.
